Editorials

Volatile Meitei mind

In the efforts to resolve through dialogue, the clash of interest between Nagas and Meiteis, so many Meiteis must have had to face the question from genuinely bewildered Nagas from Nagaland as to who or which civil society organization can represent the Meiteis and take decision on their behalf. The answer we all know of course is, nobody in particular, much to the disappointment of those making the queries. We say Nagas from Nagaland, because Nagas from Manipur would be understanding the Meitei reality far more accurately. In the ethnic milieu in the region, the Meitei mind must be one of the most complicated. It is on the way of individualization but not quite there yet. Hence the Meiteis cannot have an institutionalized apex body like the Naga Hoho, but at the same time, in times of crises, they have shown amazing ability to organize themselves spontaneously as a group and take on the challenge together, just as it happened, say during the Santosh Trophy controversy. When these crises pass by, the group identity, forged literally on the spot to tide the crises, also lose relevance. If the Nagas from Nagaland are puzzled by the Meitei mind, so has been so many others in mainland India, including many mandarins in New Delhi, but for precisely opposite reasons. The Meitei mind cannot be disciplined and regimented into a single fold, nor can it be seen as largely independent nuclear units. This, as we see it, is the peculiarity of the problem.

How does one approach the problem then? Broadly, it has to be from two perspectives. From the point of view of their immediate neighbours, the Nagas in this case, the Meiteis situation must be approached as a multi-party environment. Unlike the unitary characters of the Naga Hoho or the Naga Mothers’ Association, their Meitei counterparts are peculiarly federal in nature. Even the nomenclatures of their social organizations are indicative of this, hence there would be “united” committees, “united” clubs, “joint” action committees etc. Any effort to homogenize the constituents of any of these “united” or “joint” bodies, would almost invariably result in inner tensions and ultimately lead to their split, often self destructively. Most of these organizations would also without fail shed part or whole of their relevance after the issues that threw them up are resolved. From the other more distant perspective, it would be good not to see the problem through a single lens and generalize. The understanding of the civil society is very different here. Indeed, if there is anything as a civil society institution, it must be the Meira Paibis, but this too cannot be conceptualized in the traditional sense. For this is not so much an organization, as it is a spirit. They too virtually do not exist during normal times, but in abnormal times, they incarnate into personas befitting the needs of the hour. Hence, in the early 1980s when alcoholism was a menace, they came along as Nisha Bandh, in 1904 they challenged the British administration’s policies, and in the 21st Century, they have fought black laws. They have had their share of martyrs and heroes through the centuries, but none can be singled out as a leader, for nobody led the spontaneous movements they are so famous for today. Any effort to do this would also end in ridicule for the selectors as well as the selected, for no isolated leadership would be accepted.

From the Meitei’s own point of view, this personality characteristic is as much a distinctive feature as it is a problem. The question is, how do you relate to others without a representative voice or permanent address where this voice can be located? At the government level these are very much there, but what is essential is also for the civil society to evolve a mechanism by which the aggregate of all the voices of its constituents can be projected and articulated. A democratic instrument whereby this aggregate voice is compelled to be respected even by the dissenting voters, as much as it respects and makes room to accommodate the dissenting voices within.

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